A man distracted a clerk at the pharmacy at 1990 Boston Road, while a woman stuffed more than $100 worth of merchandise in her pocketbook, according to authorities.

WILBRAHAM — After getting help from the public, the Wilbraham Police Department has identified a duo suspected of committing a weekend larceny at the CVS pharmacy at Boston Road.

Authorities have yet to release the names of the suspects – a man and woman – or indicate what charges they may face. The pair entered the store at 1900 Boston Road just before 10 p.m. Saturday and attempted to steal merchandise, police said.

Capt. Tim Kane told CBS 3 Springfield, media partner of MassLive / The Republican, that the man distracted a clerk while the woman filled her purse and coat with multiple personal care items.

The store manager confronted the woman and got back more than $100 in merchandise before the suspects fled in a green Subaru Legacy, according to authorities.

This story will be updated as information becomes available.

Conor Berry | cberry@repub.com 

A Westfield man was arrested last week after ramming his SUV into a police cruiser, police say.

WESTFIELD - A Westfield man was arrested last week after ramming his SUV into a police cruiser, police say.

Charles York Jr., 35, was arraigned Thursday in Westfield District Court on two charges of vandalizing property, two counts of malicious damage to a motor vehicle, negligent operation of a motor vehicle and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Judge William Rota released York on personal recognizance.

According to the police report, around 10:30 p.m. Nov. 19, police responded to an apartment complex parking lot off Lindbergh Boulevard. Witnesses in the parking lot saw York ram his 2001 Kia Sportage into a parked 2006 Chrysler 300, the report said.

Police officers were in the area responding to an altercation involving York, and they moved to stop his vehicle, the report said. York stopped and acknowledged a police cruiser with an officer in the driver seat before ramming the front end, the report said.

The report said York caused extensive damage to the Chrysler, and a fence and shed were damaged when the car was pushed into them. The police cruiser received front bumper damage.

Attorney Alexandra Glover argues the City of Northampton and the BID pursued a meritless defense, knowing full well they would never win.

Note: A copy of the legal motion is embedded below.

NORTHAMPTON — Two downtown property owners who sued the Northampton Business Improvement District and the City of Northampton are seeking more than $200,000 in attorney's fees after winning their civil case to dismantle the BID.

Atty. Alexandra Glover of Great Barrington argued the case which resulted in the dissolution of the Northampton BID.Submitted photo

Plaintiffs Eric Suher and Alan Scheinman filed their motion for fees and costs Nov. 19 in Hampshire Superior Court through lawyer Alexandra Glover of Great Barrington, who had successfully argued the case resulting in the BID's court-ordered dissolution.

On Nov. 12, Superior Court Judge John Agostini declared the BID "null and void," capping 5½ years of litigation. Agostini agreed with plaintiffs Scheinman and Suher that the BID had been created in violation of Massachusetts general law Chapter 40O, which authorizes the districts. Agostini ordered the non-profit booster organization, which provided a range of services funded by involuntary assessments upon property owners, to close its doors immediately.

Agostini found that city officials failed to properly evaluate whether a BID petition prepared by members of the business community was legally valid before the City Council voted its approval of the district in March of 2009.

In order to form a business improvement district in Massachusetts, a petition must be signed by owners of at least 60 percent of the real property, and of at least 51 percent of the assessed valuation within the proposed bounds of the district. The petition must then be independently vetted by the City Clerk and the municipal governing body – in Northampton's case, the City Council.

City officials failed to properly verify signatures on the petition, changed the boundaries of the proposed BID map mid-process in order to ensure victory and took the word of BID proponents that the petition process was valid instead of conducting an independent analysis, the judge found.

Agostini issued his ruling for the plaintiffs 2½ months after a week-long jury-waived trial in August.

Glover's motion for fees argues that the city and the BID pursued a lengthy defense with the full knowledge that they would never win. The City Council knew about illegal steps taken to create the BID before they voted to approve the district in March 2009, argued Glover, pointing to public testimony and media reports at the time.

The city and the BID pursued a "meritless defense," wrote Glover, while all the while running a business improvement district that was unlawfully created.

The motion for fees is not based upon the failure of the defendants to legally form the BID, wrote Glover. Instead, it claims the City and the BID pursued a frivolous defense with no reasonable expectation that they would ever prevail.

The motion zeroes in on various "affirmative defenses" rehashed by BID opponents at trial after they were rejected by a previous judge in a failed motion for summary judgment.

Glover acknowledges that a prevailing party is generally denied the recovery of legal fees incurred in litigation, but points to a state law which allows for such recovery when claims are "wholly insubstantial, frivolous and not advanced in good faith."

Glover took on the BID case in the summer of 2012, after attorney Alan Seewald of Amherst left the case after being offered a job as Northampton City Solicitor. Plaintiffs tried to block Seewald's exit, claiming his work for the city would constitute a conflict of interest. Seewald incurred nearly $40,000 in legal fees in the BID case, part of the $200,686.14 the plaintiffs hope to recover. Seewald agreed to avoid all BID-related work in his role as city attorney.

Harry Miles, an attorney who represents the BID, said Monday that he would oppose the plaintiff's motion for fees.

"We intend to contest it vigorously," said Miles in a brief telephone interview.

Springfield attorney Nancy Pelletier, who represents the city in BID-related matters, did not immediately return a call seeking comment. Northampton Mayor David Narkewicz was not available for comment Monday afternoon.

Motion for Fees, Northampton BID case

Prior to Millan's death, Simsbury, Conn. has had just two murder investigations in the last decade, a police official said.

SIMSBURY, Conn. — Police continued investigating the homicide of 54-year-old MassMutual vice president Melissa Millan, who was found stabbed in the chest Thursday along a section of a popular bike path through town.

Simsbury Police Capt. Nicholas Boulter said Monday afternoon that police had little information to release to the press about the status of the investigation.

Detectives with the Simsbury police and other agencies are working hard on the case, but as yet there is no information about possible suspects.

Melissa MillanSubmitted photo

The department has received several calls on its tip line, and detectives are working to track down and verify the information, he said.

The department is also receiving significant assistance from police in neighboring jurisdictions, he said.

Millan, 54, was found lying on a paved portion of Iron Horse Boulevard between Phelps Lane and Rotary Park shortly after 8 p.m. Thursday.

She was taken by ambulance to St. Francis Hospital, where she died of her injuries.

Police declined to comment on the nature of her injuries until Saturday, when they announced that an autopsy determined Millan died of a stab wound to the chest and her death was considered a homicide.

Iron Horse Boulevard is a part of the Farmington River Trail, which is part of a larger loop of bike trails totaling 50 miles in Connecticut, and connecting to trails in Southwick and Westfield.

Millan, an avid runner and triathlete, was believed to have been out jogging when she was murdered.

Boulter said homicides are rare in Simsbury.

The last homicide in this town of 23,000 was in 2012 as part of a murder-suicide case, he said. Prior to that, there was a manslaughter conviction in 2001.

"This is a relatively safe community," he said.

According to the most recent copy of the FBI Uniform Crime Report, Simsbury reported no murders in 2013. There were just six violent crimes and 158 total property crimes reported over that period.

Millan, a mother of two, had been with MassMutual since 2001 and worked in the company's Springfield headquarters.

In 2006, she was named senior vice president of product management. In 2011, was appointed to lead an expanded and centralized services and operations division that includes new business underwriting and operations, as well as claims and medical-vocational functions in MassMutual's U.S. Insurance Group.

MassMutual over the weekend issued a statement that the company was saddened at the death of a friend and colleague.

"Melissa's tremendous leadership qualities, business acumen and deeply caring nature will be missed by those who had the opportunity to work with her," the statement read.

Company officials had little to add on Monday, except to say MassMutual would be making counseling available for her co-workers through its employee assistance program and through other resources deemed appropriate.

On the company's Facebook page, several dozen people, many of whom were co-workers, weighed in to express their condolences.

More than 100 people turned out for a vigil in her memory Sunday afternoon at a beach in Farmington, according to Connecticut News 8.

She was also remembered by Team Training New England, a triathlon training program she was active with. The group dedicated a page on its website to Millan, recalling her as an extraordinary human being who "touched lives in a profound and genuine way. Although her presence will always be missed, her spirit will live on in all the people whose lives she has touched."

In addition, Millan was also involved in the Connecticut Children's Theater, an organization that exposes children to performing arts.

A statement posted on the group's homepage eulogized Millan as a cherished member of its extended family.

"Melissa was kind. She was caring. She was generous. She was witty. She was brilliant. But, most of all, she was a wonderful mother to her two beautiful children," wrote the theater's managing director Lori Solak.

The Massachusetts Health Connector has been enrolling people at a steady rate during its first week of operations.

BOSTON - The Massachusetts Health Connector has been enrolling people at a steady rate during its first week of operations.

So far, 14,101 people have selected plans, and 753 have paid their first bill and actually enrolled in health insurance coverage, which will begin Jan. 1. Another 28,175 people were automatically enrolled in MassHealth coverage.

Maydad Cohen, special assistant to Gov. Deval Patrick overseeing the fixes to the Health Connector, said the Health Connector website continues to perform "incredibly well" and officials are "really pleased" with the enrollment numbers so far.

Open enrollment started on Saturday, Nov. 15 through the state's revamped Health Connector website. The state first launched a new health insurance exchange in October 2013 to conform with the federal Affordable Care Act, but that site was a technological disaster, and people were unable to enroll in new plans.

To deal with last year's problems, the state extended existing subsidized plans and enrolled people in temporary Medicaid coverage without knowing what insurance they qualified for. State officials estimate that between 175,000 and 225,000 people who currently have temporary Medicaid coverage or subsidized plans will have to reenroll in a new plan this year that complies with the Affordable Care Act.

A core function of the new website is its ability to determine whether a person is eligible for MassHealth, the state's Medicaid program, or for a state or federally-subsidized health plan. In total, the Health Connector determined eligibility for 52,000 people last week.

Of those, slightly fewer than 24,000 applicants were deemed eligible for MassHealth and were automatically enrolled. (Some of those were already in MassHealth plans this year.) The remaining 28,000 people must pick a plan and pay the first month's premium before they actually receive coverage.

The state has been monitoring where the enrollees are coming from. Around 16,700 people currently on temporary MassHealth coverage and 6,400 in state-subsidized Commonwealth Care plans have reapplied. Cohen said officials will do more to reach out to current Commonwealth Care enrollees. Health Care for All, a health care advocacy group, has been running an outreach campaign, knocking on doors, making phone calls and sending out mailings to inform people on subsidized plans that they need to reenroll.

One important statistic to track is the composition of people currently in temporary MassHealth. The state put people into temporary coverage without knowing whether they were eligible for MassHealth, and the state could lose federal reimbursement money if it was providing MassHealth coverage to people who should not have received it. So far, just about half of those on temporary MassHealth who have re-applied for coverage have been deemed eligible for MassHealth this year.

Asked about that, Cohen said the numbers only reflect seven days of data, and it is too early to determine any trends related to where people are coming from and where they are going.

The state has also made efforts to address areas that were problematic last year, including customer service and the website's capacity to handle traffic. This year, MassHealth and the Health Connector established call centers to help people fill out applications. The centers have received between 12,000 and 13,000 calls each weekday. During the first few days the site was live, some people complained about long wait times. Health Connector officials said the wait times were mainly due to people trying to fill out entire applications over the phone. Cohen said there were high call wait times last Saturday and last Monday morning. People on the Connector's Facebook page were complaining of wait times of 40 minutes or more on Saturday. Since then, the Connector has added staff and increased training. This Monday at noon, wait times were less than two minutes.

Claire Cooper, a spokeswoman for the Massachusetts Health Connector, said the average wait time for calls to be answered between November 15 and 22 was 241 seconds, or just over four minutes.

The site will be down from 10 p.m. Monday night to 2 a.m. Tuesday for scheduled maintenance. The maintenance is expected to fix problems related to a page that checks people's immigration status. It will also allow consumers who begin to fill out an application by phone to complete the application online.

The site saw 334,100 unique visitors in its first week.

Norman Spier, a retired statistician from Northampton, was one of the people to use the website to reapply for coverage. Spier was put on temporary MassHealth last year due to the website problems. This year, he applied on the first day of open enrollment, and it took him about two hours.

Spier called customer service representatives two or three times because of error messages and got ahold of someone after around a five-minute wait each time, he said. His biggest concern is that the computer system told him he was eligible for Medicaid, but he thinks his income is too high to qualify. When he called the customer service desk, representatives informed him that they did not know the detailed rules but would rely on the computer system's determination. Spier sent a letter outlining his concerns to MassHealth.

Spier said he is not worried about the two hours or the error messages. He said he knows that without the Affordable Care Act nationally, or the similar reforms put in place in Massachusetts in 2006, many middle class people would be at risk of losing their savings in case of a medical emergency. Spier used to live in New York and Connecticut, and moved to Massachusetts partially because of the health care law ensuring universal access to health care coverage.

While he acknowledged that the system "isn't perfect," Spier said, "It's a tiny, negligible, trivial inconvenience compared to without Obamacare."

"A little inconvenience using the system is nothing compared to losing all your money," Spier said.

The meeting is in the selectmen's conference room.

WILBRAHAM - The Board of Selectmen is meeting tonight at 7 in the town office building.

At 7 p.m. the board will interview three candidates for the By-Law Review Committee - Police Sgt. Edward Lennon, David Sanders and John Broderick.

At 7:15 p.m. a tax classification hearing is scheduled with Assessor Manuel Silva at which time the proposed fiscal 2016 tax rate should be announced.

At 7:35 p.m. an interview is scheduled with a candidate for the Historical Commission.

Bennett, reported missing on Monday, Nov. 17, had been the subject of a missing-person investigation.

Reed BennettNorthampton Police Department 

The cause of death will be determined at a later date, Carey said.

Bennett had been the subject of a missing-person investigation since Monday, Nov. 17. The identification of the body was made by the state Medical Examiner's Office, Carey said.

A team of local and state law enforcement officials found Reed's body in a small pond just inside the entrance to the park.

Although Reed's death remains under investigation, officials said the case presents no public safety concerns for citizens.

In the shadows of Boston's old red-light district sex may not be for sale on the streets, but when reporters for a local television station went undercover they found offers of sex for a fee happening behind closed doors.

A digest of news stories from around New England and beyond.

Do you have news or a news tip to submit to MassLive.com for consideration? Send an email to online@repub.com.

Between 2006 and 2009, the defendant earned more than $2 million, but filed no tax returns, Voracek said.

SPRINGFIELD — An investor in the former Gold Club strip bar must pay more than $190,000 in back taxes and faces up to 24 months in prison after pleading guilty Monday in a federal tax evasion case.

Richard L. Furnelli, formerly of Holyoke and South Hadley, pleaded guilty to one count of willfully attempting to evade taxes during a hearing before Judge Michael A. Ponsor in U.S. District Court.

The plea came 14 months after Furnelli was named in a nine-count tax evasion indictment handed down by a federal grand jury in Springfield.

As part of a plea agreement with Furnelli, the U.S. Attorney's Office agreed to drop the remaining eight counts.

Assistant Attorney General Thomas G. Voracek said the defendant concealed more than $700,000 in income from the federal government in 2007 alone by disguising his ownership interests in a network of businesses from Chicopee to California.

Between 2006 and 2009, the defendant earned more than $2 million, but filed no tax returns, Voracek said.

Under federal guidelines, Furnelli faces between 18 and 24 months in prison.

At the request of defense lawyer Vincent A. Bongiorni, Ponsor scheduled sentencing for April 29.

The Gold Club, which was located at 645 Shawinigan Drive, abutting the Massachusetts Turnpike by the Chicopee landfill, operated as an upscale strip club from 1996 to 2000 when it lost its liquor license.

At the time, the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission revoked the license after discovering its listed owner, Elizabeth A. Furnelli, did not list Richard Furnelli, her father, as having a financial interest in the operation.

It opened for a few months in 2004 under a new owner as a topless juice bar but closed for good in October of that year.

The building is now home to Salter College.

The week-old baby was in serious but stable condition a day after cyclists found him in an 8-foot deep drainin a suburb of Sydney.

SYDNEY - A 30-year-old Australian has been charged with trying to kill her newborn son by abandoning him in a roadside drain for five days before passers-by heard his cries, police said Monday.

The week-old baby was in serious but stable condition in Westmead Children's Hospital a day after cyclists found him in a 8-foot deep drain beside the M7 Motorway in the Sydney suburb of Quakers Hill, police said in a prepared statement.

He was malnourished and dehydrated but had no apparent physical injury, police have said.

His mother, Saifale Nai, did not appear in court to answer the attempted murder charge. Her lawyer did not enter a plea and the magistrate formally refused her bail.

Nai will remain in custody until her next court appearance on Friday. She would face a potential maximum sentence of 25 years in prison if convicted.

"Police will allege the baby, believed to have been born on Monday (Nov. 17), was placed into the drain on Tuesday," the police statement said.

Andrew Pesce, a gynecologist, obstetrician and former president of the Australian Medical Association, said such an ordeal could leave a newborn with long-term problems such as brain damage.

"There would still have to be some concerns about the baby," Pesce said.

"I would have thought that it wouldn't have been able to survive for much longer if it didn't start getting fed," he added.

He said healthy newborns have reserves to cope with relative malnutrition and often lose 10 percent of their birth weight because their mothers can take a few days before producing sufficient milk.

Helen Polley, a senator in the opposition Labor Party, said the near-tragedy could have been avoided if emergency hatches were rolled out at Australian hospitals, police and fire stations where babies could be safely abandoned.

She called for the repeal of laws that make child abandonment a criminal offense, which she said encourage the problem to be hidden.

Cyclists riding along a bicycle lane beside the motorway heard the baby on Sunday morning.

"We actually thought it was a kitten at first, but when we went down there we could hear exactly what it was -- you could definitely tell it was a baby screaming," cyclist David Otte told The Daily Telegraph newspaper.

It took six men, including three police officers, to lift the 440-pound concrete lid that covered the drain, the newspaper said.

Police suspect the baby was squeezed through the drain's narrow opening and dropped to the bottom.

The baby was found wrapped in a hospital blanket, and police used hospital records to find the mother.

The baby would likely be taken into state care when he was discharged from the hospital, officials said.

DePaola said the Department of Transportation will pre-treat and plow the roads to keep them safe for travel, despite the expected snow.

BOSTON — Frank DePaola, acting secretary of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, is warning Thanksgiving travelers to avoid peak travel times and expect congestion.

DePaola said the state will be prepared to address snowy road conditions, which are predicted for Western Massachusetts.

"We will pre-treat the roads before the storm begins," DePaola told reporters during a briefing on Monday at the MassDOT Highway Operations Center in Boston. "We'll have our equipment to stay with it until the storm abates. We'll make sure the roads are kept passable and safe for people to use."

As of Monday afternoon, forecasters were predicting up to 12 inches of snow in the Berkshires and six to 12 inches from Worcester west to the Berkshires. The snow will turn to rain in the eastern part of the state. The storm is expected to roll in early Wednesday morning, and conditions will worsen during the day.

"For pretty much everybody, it's going to be a sloppy travel day on Wednesday," DePaolo said.

The good news is there is unlikely to be much icing because the pavement is not yet cold. Even so, DePaolo said MassDOT will pretreat the roads and make sure to have emergency personnel out in force. "We'll do our best to keep the roads clear and safe," DePaolo said.

The storm will heighten travel concerns on what is already among the busiest travel days of the year. DePaola said last year, the Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving were both heavy traffic days, as was the Sunday after Thanksgiving. DePaolo said MassDOT is urging drivers to travel either in the early morning on those days or after 8 p.m. Drivers who can should avoid traveling between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday, which is the time when evening commuters leaving work and school mix with recreational travelers visiting family and friends.

All state construction projects will be shut down by noon on Wednesday, and there will be no construction throughout the weekend. Service plazas will offer free coffee from Thursday through Friday morning.

Motorists are encouraged to check current conditions at Logan Airport, on the MBTA and on the roads before leaving home. A RideWise application is available for smartphones, which provides up-to-date travel times on major highways. Drivers can call 511 for additional traffic information.

Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency Director Kurt Schwartz also released some Thanksgiving travel tips on Monday. Schwartz urged travelers who can leave for Thanksgiving before the bad weather hits to do so.

To drive in the snow, Schwartz warned:

• slow down;

• yield to snowplows and give them space;

• listen to the radio or NOAA Weather Radio for the latest weather forecasts, traffic and road conditions;

• keep the gas tank half full;

• install winter tires and check the car's antifreeze, battery, windshield wipers and wiper fluid;

• leave extra time;

• travel during daylight;

• keep in the car a windshield scraper and small broom for ice and snow removal and keep all windows, headlights and taillights clear of ice and snow.

A comprehensive list of Thanksgiving travel tips and information from MassLive.com business reporter Jim Kinney can be found here ».

List of stores with great deals on Black Friday.

Want to know which retailers are offering the best discounts on Black Friday? Wallethub, an online personal finance service, conducted a survey to see who's got the deepest discounts for Nov. 28.

This holiday season, including November and December, the National Retail Federation predicts that total retail sales will reach $616.9 billion, an increase of 4.1 percent from nearly $592.7 billion in 2013.

In an effort to help consumers WalletHub surveyed 5,525 deals from the 2014 Black Friday ad scans of 22 of the biggest U.S. retailers.

And here are the winners: (Click on the links to get store locator and Black Friday hours.)

1. JCPenny's: With an average discount of 65 percent off on merchandise, the retailer sells everything from clothing to jewelry and housewares. Closest stores are at the Holyoke Mall and Hampshire Mall in Hadley.

2. Macy's: Shoes, clothes, furniture, make-up and more will be on sale at this major retailer, which is offering an average of 53 percent of its merchandise. Closest stores are at the Eastfield Mall in Springfield and the Holyoke Mall.

3. Rite Aid: Looking for beauty products, small electronics and holiday candy and decorations? This pharmacy will also be offering an average of 53 percent of its merchandise. There are several stores throughout Greater Springfield including stores in West Springfield, Agawam, Palmer, Westfield and surrounding towns.

4. Meijer: This grocery store, pharmacy combo will be offering an average of 45 percent off merchandise. Alas the chain can only be found in Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Kentucky.

5. Sears: Large appliances, clothing, tools and more will be on sale at this retailer for an average of 50 percent off. Closest stores are at the Eastfield Mall in Springfield and the Hoyoke Mall.

6. Walgreens:The pharmacy will have make-up, toys, holiday candy and more on sale for an average of 46 percent off. These stores are pretty much in every town.

7. Office Depot and Office Max: Looking for computers, The retailer will offer an average of 43 percent off on merchandise. Closest store is in Marlborough.

8. Ace Hardware: Tools can be awesome and also very expensive gifts. Ace Hardware will be offering an average of 41 percent off its merchandise. Stores in Springfield, East Longmeadow, Agawam, South Hadley and several surrounding towns.

9. Kohl's: Clothing, bedding, luggage, housewares and more will be on sale for an average of 39 percent off on many items. Stores located in West Springfield, Springfield and surrounding towns.

10. Staples: There are stores located in Springfield, Northampton, West Springfield and surrounding stores.

Coming in at 13 is Kmart offering nearly 36 percent off on merchandise and at 14 Target, offering an average of 35 percent off on most items.

A tracker placed on a dolphin that was stranded in Wellfleet indicated that it was swimming about 16 miles off the coast this morning.

ORLEANS - Rescuers from the International Fund for Animal Welfare responded to two reports of dolphin strandings on Cape Cod Sunday.

Unlike strandings in past years where numbers of dolphins were found on Cape Cod Bay beaches, only two animals were found this time, according to news reports. And both instances resulted in happy endings.

The first dolphin was reported on Skaket Beach in Orleans, according to the Cape Cod Times.

"International Fund for Animal Welfare Marine Mammal Rescue and Research Team volunteer Valerie Magor responded to the report made to police shortly before 9:45 a.m. and was able to push the dolphin off the flats as the incoming tide rolled in," the Times reported.

Later in the day, another report came in from Mayo Beach in Wellfleet, according to radio station WBZ-AM in Boston.

"Workers were able to rescue the dolphin and move it to a rescue trailer for a health exam, the station reported. "The adult female dolphin was about 6 feet 6 inches long and in good condition."

It was not immediately clear whether the two strandings involved different animals or the same one. But a satellite placed on the Wellfleet dolphin before she was released off Herring Cove in Provincetown is allowing rescuers to keep track of her.

As of Monday morning, the dolphin was swimming 16 miles off the coast of Truro, the station reported.

Two years ago, about 100 dolphins stranded themselves in multiple instances between November and March. In once case, 77 were found on a beach in Wellfleet. Scientists have been trying to figure out why the instances continue to happen.

The last time there was a "plowable snow" on Thanksgiving in Western Massachusetts was nine years ago.

SPRINGFIELD - The first major snowfall of the season is predicted to come at the worst possible times: right at the start of the Thanksgiving holiday.

The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning that will be in effect from 7 a.m. Wednesday through 10 a.m. Thursday in anticipation of what is being called "a plowable snow."

Western Massachusetts, Northern Connecticut and parts of Worcester County could see potentially between six and 10 inches of snow Wednesday morning through Thursday morning.

Snow on Thanksgiving is unusual in this region. The last time that happened was nine years ago.

The storm, overlapping with the Thanksgiving holiday, would coincide with one of the most-traveled periods of the year.

Area highways will be likely be stuffed with traffic anyway as people head off to visit relatives. Toss several inches of snow into the mix will likely make difficult travel conditions near impossible.

"This storm will significantly impact holiday travel, making driving dangerous at times," according to a National Weather Service statement.

Anyone preparing to travel on Wednesday or Thursday should pay close attention to forecasts "and be prepared to modify travel plans should winter weather develop."

The forecast calls for a mixture of rain and snow Wednesday morning. By the afternoon, it should change to all snow and then continue through the night into Thursday morning.

Mike Skurko, meteorologist for CBS 3 Springfield, the media partners of The Republican and MassLive, said it is clear that a storm is due for Western Massachusetts on Wednesday and Thursday but it is not yet clear whether it will be rain, snow or a mixture.

"The best timing of the precipitation looks to be from sunset Wednesday to just before dawn Thanksgiving morning," he said. "The exact track will determine the specifics, but right now a good coating of snow seems likely, with a few inches of snow (say, in the 3 to 6-inch range) not being ruled out for the Springfield area just yet. Stay posted!"

The last significant snowfall to occur over Thanksgiving in this area was in 2005.

Snowfall amounts in the Nov. 20, 2005 storm ranged between 2.5 inches in the Chicopee-Springfield area and 3.3 inches in Westfield, according to an account in The Republican.

The article described how the storm caused numerous accidents on area roadways, causing several injuries throughout the area. A 2-year-old child was also killed in a collision on I-91 in Deerfield, but that was at a time just prior to the snow.

Thanksgiving is one of the most heavily-traveled periods of the year, and AAA is predicting this year to be more heavily traveled than most.

The national travel club is anticipating some 46 million people plan to drive at least 50 miles during the Thanksgiving break. That would be a 4.2 percent increase over last year.

Hector Navarro of Chicopee pleads innocent to drunken driving and firearms charges.

The Hampden County Hall of Justice in Springfield.MICHAEL S. GORDON / THE REPUBLICAN FILE 

SPRINGFIELD - A 25-year-old Chicopee man has pleaded innocent to driving under the influence of liquor - and having an illegal firearm and a large capacity feeding device.

Hector Navarro, of 80 Hilton St., pleaded guilty Monday and Hampden Superior Court Judge Edward J. McDonough accepted the prosecution's request for a $25,000 cash bail.

According to court records the three indictments of Navarro - who is represented by Richard Rubin - stem from an Aug. 23 arrest in Springfield.

A pretrial hearing was set for Feb. 23 in the case being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Robert A. Schmidt.

Selectmen interviewed three applicants on Monday.

WILBRAHAM - The Board of Selectmen Monday interviewed three applicants for a town By-Law Review Committee.

The applicants are Police Sgt. Edward Lennon, David Sanders and John Broderick.

No appointments have been made yet, but the board is looking for additional applicants to serve on the committee. The committee is supposed to have a total of five members in addition to the town clerk and the town attorney serving ex officio.

Lennon, who supervises the midnight to 8 a.m. shift for the Police Department, said he is a former court liaison for the Police Department.

He said the town has some dated bylaws, and the court has recommended that some of the bylaws should be updated.

Lennon said the state has put out a guide for a Bylaw Review Committee which he has.

Lennon said he would represent the Police Department on the committee.

The town has not updated its bylaws since 1995.

David Sanders, a member of the Planning Board who also films the selectmen's meetings for the cable access channel, said he takes an interest in the town and the laws governing the town.

He said there are some bylaws governing town meeting which could be looked at.

John Broderick, who said he works in accounting, said he is interested "in the way the town works."

He said he has attended selectmen's meetings, Finance Committee meetings and Community Preservation Committee meetings. He said he watches many municipal meetings on the public access channel.

"I would like to see a bylaw review committee up and running in January," Broderick said.

Selectmen Chairman Robert Russell said he expects to receive some additional applications from residents interested in serving on the committee.

All candidates will be interviewed, and then appointments will be made, Russell said.

Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivan is among those serving on the team, which will be led by attorney Stephen Oleskey and Democratic activist Deborah Shah.

Attorney General-elect Maura Healey, a Democrat, has named a prestigious group of lawyers and politicians to serve on her transition team, including Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivan.

Healey's transition team will be chaired by Stephen Oleskey, who also co-chaired Healey's campaign. Oleskey is an attorney at the Boston law firm Hiscock & Barclay. In the 1980s, he served as Massachusetts deputy attorney general and chief of the public protection bureau. He is a former member of the board of directors of the Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation and earned an award in 2007 for pro bono representation of detainees at Guantanamo Bay.

The director of the transition team will be Deborah Shah, a Democratic activist who founded the advocacy group Progressive Massachusetts. Shah was Healey's field director for central and western Massachusetts, and also worked on the campaigns of Gov. Deval Patrick, state Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz and Mayor Setti Warren of Newton.

In addition to Sullivan, Healey's transition team includes: former Labor and Workforce Development Secretary Joanne Goldstein; former Middlesex District Attorney Gerard Leone; director of Northeastern University's Institute of Race and Justice Jack McDevitt; Harvard Law School Professor Charles Ogletree; retired judge Luis Perez of Worcester; Fitchburg Mayor Lisa Wong; civil rights lawyer Margaret Burnham; Boston City Councilor Ayanna Pressley; Free Speech for People founder Jeff Clements; executive director of the National Consumer Law Center Will Ogburn; Greater Boston Legal Services Attorney Monica Halas; and attorneys Paul Dacier, Lisa Goodheart, Tom Lesser, Mary Strother, Mardee Xifaras and Adam Sisitsky, who was also Healey's campaign co-chair.

Healey's campaign manager Mike Firestone and her spokesman and strategist David Guarino will also continue to be involved during the transition.

Healey has set up a transition website where job applicants can upload their resumes.

A firefighter is "shocked" to find himself accused of stealing close to $50,000 and lavishing his home with a TV, furniture and fitness equipment, his lawyer said.

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Outgoing Treasurer Steve Grossman on Tuesday opposes a $1.4 million cut to the state lottery's budget included in Gov. Deval Patrick's $329 million budget-balancing bill, saying the agency could lose $30 million in profits if the cuts are approved.

By GINTAUTAS DUMCIUS

BOSTON — Outgoing Treasurer Steve Grossman on Tuesday opposes a $1.4 million cut to the state lottery's budget included in Gov. Deval Patrick's $329 million budget-balancing bill, saying the agency could lose $30 million in profits if the cuts are approved.

At a Massachusetts Lottery Commission meeting, Grossman said that according to staff calculations, one way to save $900,000 would be to cut two lottery tickets, a $2 ticket and a $5 ticket. But the agency, which currently has fewer full-time employees than it did four years ago, would lose $170 million in sales and $30 million in profits, he said.

The lottery is on track to hit $5 billion in sales in fiscal year 2015, according to Grossman.

"It would just be unwise to make those cuts because it would cost us much more in lost profit than we would ever pick up in savings," Grossman said during the meeting. "And they know that, we've conveyed that to legislative leadership, and we'll see where it goes. It looks like it won't come up until after the new governor's sworn in anyhow."

Four months after signing a $36.5 billion fiscal 2015 budget that increased spending by 5.6 percent, Patrick this month cited insufficient revenues to support that level of spending and proposed a plan to close a budget gap that included a $25.5 million cut to local aid to cities and towns. Patrick has also asked lawmakers to require cuts in spending at non-executive branch agencies.

Grossman, a Democrat who unsuccessfully ran for governor this year, said he agrees with the House speaker and governor-elect in opposing the cut to local aid.

"Midway through the year, cutting unrestricted local aid -- while it is not my responsibility, I don't have a vote on it, I'm not a legislative leader -- I would agree both with Bob DeLeo and Charlie Baker that cutting unrestricted local aid in the middle of the year can wreak havoc with town and city budgets, and therefore I think it is imprudent to do it at this point in the year," Grossman told the News Service.

Grossman said he told Patrick administration officials when the budget shortfall was first announced that he was willing to voluntarily cut his office's budget by 1.5 percent but asked them not to make the cut legislatively. The treasury budget, which includes the Lottery and several other departments, consists of mostly administrative expenses, he said, and savings could come through not filling a few positions.

"We're a constitutional office, and constitutional offices have certain prerogatives in the constitution," Grossman said. "So if you want us to do it, ask us to do it and we'll do it voluntarily. It may be a distinction without a difference but preserving the constitutional separation and doing it anyhow gets them everything they want."

Grossman said he would testify at a legislative hearing if necessary against the cut to the Lottery and a proposed $37,000 cut to the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission (ABCC).

Ninety percent of the ABCC's budget is personnel-related and the agency only has 14 inspectors, the fifth-lowest number of inspectors in the country as a percentage of the total licenses issued, he said.

The commission is focusing illegal alcohol servings to the underaged during the holidays, the prom season and a pay-to-play investigation into beer distributors and retailers. The commission requires additional resources, "which we are having a hard time allocating, given the fact that we have only 14 inspectors," Grossman said.

Treasurer-elect Deb Goldberg, a Brookline Democrat who will take over the job in January, attended the commission meeting and sat at the table as the commissioners discussed lottery sales figures and an advertising campaign for holiday tickets put together by Connelly Partners.

Relationships between the lottery and small independent retailers will be "even more critical" as the state moves into a more "competitive" gambling environment, she said.

Goldberg, former chair of the Brookline Board of Selectmen, told the News Service that casinos that are expected to open in the next several years could cut into the lottery's business.

"It's competition and consequently we have to take it seriously and I believe we have time to allow ourselves time to solidify ourselves in the marketplace," she said.

Goldberg added that she didn't disagree with Grossman's opposition to the governor's proposed cuts to the lottery, the ABCC and local aid.

Asked about Grossman's comments, a Patrick spokeswoman said the administration sought to protect education spending and avoid "negative impacts on the most vulnerable of our residents" in its proposals.

"To pursue the most careful and thoughtful approach to balancing the budget, and in the spirit of shared sacrifice, we have not only used our 9C power to make reductions to Executive Branch spending but also proposed measured reductions to non-executive agencies and local aid," said Meghan Kelly, the spokeswoman, said in an email. "This is consistent with how we have approached this previously."

Some officials paid their bills upon release of the report.

HOLYOKE -- Officials collectively owe the city more than $35,000 in back taxes and other bills, with one member of a volunteer board accounting for 68 percent of the total, according to a report the City Council received.

Some officials retired their debts upon release of the report. That won't show up on the report as published below because the report came from the city as a PDF, a file format that provides an electronic image of text or graphics that can't be altered.

Maria Ferrer, a member of the Holyoke Redevelopment Authority, owes $23,899 mostly in costs related to tax title, or proof-of-ownership proceedings related to delinquent bills, according to the report the council received Nov. 18.

Ferrer owes the money for the property she owns at 394-398 High St. that includes her MD Beauty Salon at 396 High St. She couldn't immediately be reached for comment but officials said she is on a payment plan with the city. Redevelopment Authority is a volunteer board.

The report shows more than 165 officials on 36 boards and includes the mayor, the 15-member City Council and 10-member School Committee.

The total owed as of the City Council's receipt of the report on Nov. 18 was $35,320.

Water Commission member Mark Naidorf owed $7,575 in taxes and tax title costs, but he said Tuesday (Nov. 25) he paid off the debt. The tax collector's office confirmed that.

The Water Commission has three members, appointed by the City Council, and each is paid $4,000 a year.

Ward 2 Councilor Anthony Soto was listed at owing $210 in sewer bills but he said he has paid that. City Treasurer Jon D. Lumbra confirmed that.

Each city councilor is paid $10,000 a year.

Charles F. Glidden, of the Holyoke Geriatric Authority board of directors, had owed $79.36 in sewer costs but paid them, Lumbra said.

Aside from Naidorf, Soto and Glidden, the status of everyone else on the report was accurate as of Wednesday, Lumbra said.

The City Council voted unanimously Oct. 21 to have the treasurer and tax collector report whether any elected or appointed officials were delinquent by six or more months on property taxes or water, sewer, gas and electric bills.

The intent is to hold elected and appointed officials to the same standards required of applicants for special permits and others who petition the city, said council President Kevin A. Jourdain, who co-sponsored the order.

Taxes owed by Holyoke public officials, board members by masslive